Irregular verbs in English. Complete list of English irregular verbs. Irregular English verbs with translation and transcription

In the past tense, the verb after any pronoun goes in the same form - with the ending - ed - or completely changes its shape. In the first case, we are dealing with regular verbs with the ending - ed ... In the second case, we are faced with irregular verbs.

You cannot add to them - ED since in the past tense, these verbs are completely changed.

This is exactly what we observe with do. In the past tense it is not doed (as it should be according to the rule), and did , because do is an irregular verb.

So how do you know if a verb is correct or not?

Here a little "female" logic will help us: you just need to learn the table of irregular verbs and their translation. The ones not on this list are correct. But the catch is that there are about 200 irregular verbs! And multiply this number by 3 (an irregular verb has 3 forms: one is the present tense, the second is the past tense, the third is the participle). Nevertheless, the list of verbs necessary in everyday life is not so extensive - almost 2 times less. First of all, you need to know them.

How to remember irregular verbs?

Repeat aloud the 3 forms of each verb, so they are perfectly remembered - like a rhyme! Or print a book for fast memorization of irregular verbs ().

Table of irregular verbs with translations

Table. Irregular verbs with translation

Present time	Past tense	Participle	Translation
1.awake	awoke	awoken	wake up
2.be	was, were	been	to be
3.beat	beat	beaten	beat
4.become	became	become	become
5.begin	began	begun	start off
6.bend	bent	bent	bend, bend over
7.bite	bit	bitten	bite
8.blow	blew	blown	blow
9.break	broke	broken	break
10.bring	brought	brought	bring
11. broadcast	broadcast	broadcast	broadcast
12.build	built	built	build
13.burn	burned / burnt	burned / burnt	burn, burn
14.buy	bought	bought	buy
15.catch	caught	caught	catch
16.choose	chose	chosen	choose
17. come	came	come	to come
18. cost	cost	cost	cost
19.cut	cut	cut	cut
20.dig	dug	dug	dig
21. do	did	done	make
22. draw	drew	drawn	1.draw 2.pull
23. dream	dreamed / dreamt	dreamed / dreamt	dream
24. drive	drove	driven	to govern
25.Drink	drank	drunk	drink
26. eat	ate	eaten	there is
27. fall	fell	fallen	fall
28. feel	felt	felt	feel
29. fight	fought	fought	fight
30. find	found	found	find
31. fly	flew	flown	fly
32. forget	forgot	forgotten	forget
33. forgive	forgave	forgiven	to forgive
34. freeze	froze	frozen	freeze
35. get	got	gotten	receive
36. give	gave	given	to give
37. go	went	gone	go
38. grow	grew	grown	grow
39. hang	hung	hung	hang
40. have	had	had	to have, to have
41. hear	heard	heard	hear
42. hide	hid	hidden	hide
43. hit	hit	hit	strike
44. hold	held	held	Keep
45. hurt	hurt	hurt	hurt
46. ​​keep	kept	kept	keep
47. know	knew	known	know
48. lay	laid	laid	lay down
49. lead	led	led	lead
50. learn	learned / learnt	learned / learnt	learn
51. leave	left	left	leave
52. lend	lent	lent	lend
53. let	let	let	let
54. lie	lay	lain	lie
55. lose	lost	lost	lose
56. make	made	made	make
57. mean	meant	meant	mean
58. meet	met	met	meet
59. pay	paid	paid	to pay
60. put	put	put	lay down
61. read	read	read	read
62. ride	rode	ridden	to ride
63. ring	rang	rung	to call
64. rise	rose	risen	get up
65. run	ran	run	run away
66. say	said	said	to tell
67. see	saw	seen	see
68. sell	sold	sold	sell
69.send	sent	sent	send
70.show	showed	showed / shown	show
71. shut	shut	shut	close
72. sing	sang	sung	sing
73. sit	sat	sat	sit
74. sleep	slept	slept	sleep
75. speak	spoke	spoken	talk
76. spend	spent	spent	spend
77. stand	stood	stood	stand
78. swim	swam	swum	swim
79. take	took	taken	take
80. teach	taught	taught	teach
81. tear	tore	torn	tear
82. tell	told	told	tell
83. think	thought	thought	think
84.throw	threw	thrown	throw
85.understand	understood	understood	understand
86. wake	woke	woken	wake up
87. wear	wore	worn	wear
88. win	won	won	win
89. write	wrote	written	write

The main difficulty with English verbs is that in English there is no rule according to which their past form is formed. And worse, there is no logic in her education.

To use these verbs in the past tense, you need to memorize them. Moreover, many irregular verbs have two different past tense forms. To do this, you will need ongoing practice, which you can get from Easy Speak English courses for adults.

Since when using irregular verbs you will more than once come across the concepts of "verb forms", in the article we will consider what they are.

What are the forms of English verbs?

A verb is an action that someone / something does. For example: lie down, run, jump, swim.

All English verbs are divided into regular and irregular. Knowing whether a verb is correct or incorrect is necessary in order to use it in the past tense.

In Russian, we add "l" at the end to put the verb in the past tense.

Present tense: I read, write, walk, swim.

Past tense: reading, writing, walking, swimming.

In English, some verbs are formed according to the rules, while others are not. I think you already guessed that this is the difference between regular and irregular verbs.

Regular verbs in English (regular verbs)- these are those verbs, the past form of which is formed according to the rules, by adding the ending -ed.

For example

work - worked,
work - work.

Irregular verbs in English- these are verbs, the past form of which is not formed according to the rules. At the same time, there is no logic in her education.

For example

buy - bought,
buy - bought.

One of the main difficulties for learners is that there is no rule by which to determine whether a verb is regular or irregular. You can find out only by looking at it in the dictionary or memorizing it.

Verb form is how the verb changes depending on the time of use.

Both regular and irregular verbs have 3 forms.

English verb forms

All verbs have 3 forms.

The first form verb- this is the verb itself in the present tense, in its initial form.

For example

(to) work - to work,
(to) do - to do,
(to) buy - buy.

Second form verb Is a verb in the past tense (this form is used in all simple past tenses).

worked - worked,
did - did,
bought - bought.

Third form of the verb- this is a verb in the past tense, which also carries the signs of an object (this form is used in the tenses of the Perfect group).

worked - worked,
done - who did
bought - who bought.

Note: of course, when using the 3rd form in our speech, we do not translate it so literally, but translate it in the usual past tense.

For example

I have done my homework.
I did my homework (Literally: I did the homework).

How are English verb forms formed?

In regular verbs, both past tense forms are formed according to the same rule, so attention is usually not focused on them.

To form the 2nd and 3rd forms, we add the ending -ed to the verb.

Work - worked - worked.

For irregular verbs, the 2nd and 3rd forms can:

• coincide with each other.

Have— had - had,
have - had.

• differ.

Do - did - done,
to do - did.

This is where the complexity of irregular verbs lies. To use all 3 shapes correctly, you need to memorize them.

Let's take another look at the table of the formation of 3 forms of verbs.

Table of verb forms in English.

Verb	1 form	Form 2 education	Form 3 education
Correct			Add the ending -ed to the verb.
Wrong	The initial form is a verb without changes.	We use the 2nd form of the verb.	We use the 3rd form of the verb.

In the article, we examined the most popular ways to memorize irregular verbs and chose the most effective one.

English is a language of exceptions, where, when learning a new grammar rule, students are faced with a dozen but, in which this rule does not apply. One of these rules is the use of irregular verbs in the past tense. For many English learners, this topic is a nightmare. But you can't do without them, because these are the realities of English! However, the good news is that modern English is gradually getting rid of irregular verbs, replacing them with regular ones. Why and how - we will consider in the article.

Why are English verbs irregular?

The difficulty in using irregular verbs is experienced not only by foreigners, but also by the speakers themselves. Nevertheless, for English philologists, the non-standard nature of this part of speech is not a disadvantage, but a reason for pride. They believe that irregular verbs are a cultural monument that perpetuates the history of the English language. The explanation for this fact is the Germanic roots of the origin of irregular verbs, which makes British English a traditional variant of the language. For comparison, the Americans are trying with might and main to get rid of the irregular shape, remaking it into the correct one. Therefore, the list of non-standard verbs increases for those who learn both versions of the language. Thus, the wrong version is ancient, which is reflected in prose and poetry.

How many forms does a verb have in English?

Speaking about verbs in English, it should be noted that they have 3 forms:

• infinitive, it is;
• I, or Participle I, - this form is used in the simple past tense (Past Simple) and in the 2nd and 3rd cases of the conditional mood (Conditional of the 2-d and of the 3-d case);
• Past Participle II, or Participle II, for Past Perfect, Passive Voice and Conditional of the 3-d case.

The table "Three in English" is presented later in the article.

What are regular and irregular verbs? Education rules

Regular verbs are those in which the Past Simple and Participle II are formed by adding the ending -ed to the initial form. The table "Three forms of a verb in English. Regular verbs" will help you better understand this rule.

There are some peculiarities in the formation of the Participle I and Participle II forms:

• if the verb ends with the letter -e, then adding -ed does not double it;
• the consonant in monosyllabic verbs is duplicated when added. Example: stop - stopped;
• if the verb ends in -y with a preceding consonant, then y changes to i before adding -ed.

Irregular verbs are called verbs that do not obey the general rule for the formation of temporary forms. In English, these include Past Simple and Participle II.

Irregular verbs are formed using:

ablaut, at which the root changes. Example: swim - swam - swum (swim - swam - swam);

use of suffixes other than those accepted in the grammar of the language. Example: do - did - done;

the same, or unchangeable form. Example: cut - cut - cut.

Due to the fact that each irregular verb has its own form of change, they should be learned by heart.

In total, there are 218 irregular verbs in English, of which approximately 195 are in active use.

Recent studies in the field of language show that rare verbs are gradually disappearing from the language due to the replacement of the 2nd and 3rd forms with the forms of the regular verb, that is, the addition of the ending - ed. This fact is confirmed by the table "Three forms of the verb in the English language" - the table presents a number of verbs that have both regular and irregular forms.

table of irregular verbs

The table "Three forms of irregular verbs in English" includes the most frequently used verbs. The table shows 3 forms and translation.

Irregular verbs came to modern English from Old English, which was spoken by Angles and Saxons - British tribes.

Irregular verbs are derived from the so-called strong verbs, each of which had its own type of conjugation.

Researchers at Harvard have found that most of the verbs used are irregular, and they will remain so, since they are used more often than others.

In the history of the English language, there is also such a phenomenon when a regular verb became irregular. For example, sneak has 2 forms - sneaked and snuck.

Not only English learners have problems with verbs, but also native speakers, as even they get into awkward situations when it comes to this difficult part of speech.

One of them is Jennifer Garner, who has been convinced all her life that sneak is the correct verb.

She was corrected by the host of one of the programs in which the actress took part. With a dictionary in hand, he pointed out to Jennifer her mistake.

Therefore, do not be upset if you make mistakes when using irregular verbs. The main thing is that they do not become systematic.

Regular verbs

The table "Three forms of regular verbs in English with transcription and translation" is compiled on the basis of the most frequently used verbs.

			Past Participle I and II
ask
to answer
permit
agree
borrow, borrow
copy, rewrite
Cook
close
carry, drag
call, call
discuss
decide, decide
explain		explain
slide
cry, scream
finish, finish, finish
shine
rub
grab
to help
happen, happen
to govern
watch
like
move, move
to govern
be necessary, need
open
recall
suggest		sajjest
study, study
stop, stop
start off
travel
talk
transfer		transit
try, try
use
worry
walk, walk
watch
work

Examples of the use of 3 forms of verbs with translation

Above, we looked at 3 forms of verbs in English. A table with examples of use and translation will help solidify the topic.

Here, for each grammatical construction, two examples are given - one with regular verbs, the other with irregular verbs.

Grammatical design	Example in English	Translation
Past simple	Peter worked yesterday. She felt bad last week.	Peter worked yesterday. She felt bad last week.
Present perfect tense	James has already helped me. Have you ever been to Thailand?	James has already helped me. Have you ever been to Thailand?
Past Perfect Tense	I understood that I had used my last ticket. Helen noticed that she had forgotten her documents at home.	I realized I was using the last ticket. She realized that she had forgotten the documents at home.
Passive voice	Amy was taken to the zoo last Sunday. A baby is sung a lullaby every night.	Amy was taken to the zoo last Sunday. They sing a lullaby to the baby every night.
Conditional	If I had money, I would buy a car. If she could help us, she would have done it.	If I had money, I would buy a car. If she could help us, she would.

Exercises

For a better memorization of irregular verbs, you need to not only learn and repeat them by heart, but also perform various exercises.

Exercise 1. Here is a table "Three forms of a verb in English. Irregular verbs". Fill in one of the three missing forms.

Exercise 2. Here is a table "Three forms of a verb in English. Regular verbs". Insert forms Participle I and II.

Exercise 3. Using the tables, translate the following sentences into English.

1. I was reading a book.
2. We saw them yesterday.
3. The Smiths lived in London until 2000. They then moved to Manchester.
4. Alice was a university student in 2014.
5. They worked for the same company two years ago.
6. He just finished training.
7. When we were children, my mother often took us to this park.
8. I drove a toy car as a child.

Answers to exercises

Exercise 1.

Exercise 2.

asked, borrowed, closed, decided, explained, helped, started, travelled, used, worked.

Exercise 3.

1. I read a book.
2. We saw them yesterday.
3. The Smiths lived in London till 2000. Then they moved to Manchester.
4. Alice was a student of Univercity in 2014.
5. They worked in the same company two years ago.
6. He has just finished training.
7. When we were children we were took for a walk to this park.
8. I drove a toy car in my childhood.

Get in the habit of repeating the basic forms of the English verb periodically. Using an irregular verb table, doing the exercises and repeating regularly will help you cope with the difficulties of the English language faster.

English requires a detailed and systematic approach. Of course, if the priority is to gain knowledge that will help in practice. Within the framework of this goal it occupies a special place, for which there are quite rational explanations.

Verb / Verb
be	was, were	been	To be
beat	beat	beaten ["bi: tn]	Beat
become	became	become	Become
begin	began	begun	Start off
bleed	bled	bled	Bleed
blow	blew	blown	Blow
break	broke	broken ["brouk (e) n]	Break
bring	brought	brought	Bring
build	built	built	Build
burn	burnt	burnt	To burn
burst	burst	burst	Break out
buy	bought	bought	Buy
catch	caught	caught	Catch, grab, catch
choose	chose [ʃəuz]	chosen	Choose
come	came	come	To come
cost	cost	cost	Cost
creep	crept	crept	Crawl
cut	cut	cut	Cut
do	did	done	Make
draw	drew	drawn	Draw, drag
dream	dreamt	dreamt	Dream, doze
drink	drank	drunk	Drink
drive	drove	driven ["drivn]	To drive
eat	ate	eaten ["i: tn]	There is
fall	fell	fallen ["fɔ: lən]	Fall
feed	fed	fed	Feed
feel	felt	felt	Feel
fight	fought	fought	Fight
find	found	found	Find
fit	fit	fit	Fit to size
fly	flew	flown	Fly
forget	forgot	forgotten	Forget
forgive	forgave	forgiven	Forgive
freeze	froze	frozen ["frouzn]	Freeze
get [get]	got	got	Receive
give	gave	given	To give
go	went	gone	Go
grow	grew	grown	Grow
hang	hung	hung	Hang
have	had	had	Have
hear	heard	heard	Hear
hide	hid	hidden ["hidn]	Hide
hit	hit	hit	Hit the target
hold	held	held	Hold
hurt	hurt	hurt	Hurt
keep	kept	kept	Contain
kneel	knelt	knelt	Kneel
know	knew	known	Know
lay	laid	laid	Put
lead	led	led	To lead
lean	leant	leant	Tilt
learn	learnt	learnt	Learn
leave	left	left	Leave
lend	lent	lent	To borrow
let	let	let	Let
lie	lay	lain	Lie
light	lit	lit	Illuminate
lose	lost	lost	Lose
make	made	made	Produce
mean	meant	meant	To mean
meet	met	met	Meet
mistake	mistook	mistaken	To be wrong
pay	paid	paid	To pay
prove	proved	proven	Prove
put	put	put	Put
quit	quit	quit	Go out
read	read	read	Read
ride	rode	ridden ["ridn]	Ride a horse
ring	rang	rung	Ring
rise	rose	risen ["rizn]	Get up
run	ran	run	Run away
say	said	said	Talk
see	saw	seen	See
seek	sought	sought	Search
sell	sold	sold	Sell
send	sent	sent	Send
set	set	set	To put
sew	sewed	sewn	Sew
shake [ʃeik]	shook [ʃuk]	shaken ["ʃeik (ə) n]	Shake
show [ʃəu]	showed [ʃəud]	shown [ʃəun]	Show
shrink [ʃriŋk]	shrank [ʃræŋk]	shrunk [ʃrʌŋk]	Reduce
shut [ʃʌt]	shut [ʃʌt]	shut [ʃʌt]	Close
sing	sang	sung	Sing
sink	sank, sunk	sunk	Drown
sit	sat	sat	Sit
sleep	slept	slept	Sleep
slide	slid	slid	Slide
sow	sowed	sown	Sow
speak	spoke	spoken ["spouk (e) n]	Talk
spell	spelt	spelt	To spell
spend	spent	spent	Spend
spill	spilt	spilt	Shed
spoil	spoilt	spoilt	Spoil
spread	spread	spread	Spread
spring	sprang	sprung	Jump
stand	stood	stood	Stand
steal	stole	stolen ["stəulən]	Steal
stick	stuck	stuck	Prick
sting	stung	stung	Sting
sweep	swept	swept	Sweep away
swell	swelled	swollen ["swoul (e) n]	Swell
swim	swam	swum	Swim
swing	swung	swung	Sway
take	took	taken ["teik (ə) n]	Take, take
teach	taught	taught	Learn
tear	tore	torn	Tear
tell	told	told	Tell
think [θiŋk]	thought [θɔ: t]	thought [θɔ: t]	Think
throw [θrəu]	threw [θru:]	thrown [θrəun]	Throw
understand [ʌndə "stænd]	understood [ʌndə "stud]	understood [ʌndə "stud]	Understand
wake	woke	woken ["wouk (e) n]	Wake up
wear	wore	worn	Wear
weep	wept	wept	Cry
wet	wet	wet	Soak
win	won	won	Win
wind	wound	wound	Wriggle
write	wrote	written ["ritn]	Write

Why is it important to know English irregular verbs?

So, irregular verbs, as mentioned above, play a key role in the success of learning English. Many people were able to see this. Let's consider the main nuances.

Practice shows: half of the mistakes made in speech and writing lie in the incorrect use of verb forms and tenses. Often the verb is superfluous in the sentence or is used falsely. This can completely change the meaning. The principle of learning English is to start with those where mistakes are often made. That's why table of irregular verbs must be fully studied. Otherwise, it is possible to get negative consequences, such as confusion of phrases. When there are many mistakes, then the desire to learn the language disappears. This cannot be allowed. It is important to focus on the success of the task. With the right approach, all goals will be achieved.

Irregular verbs can be used as builders of phrases and sentences that are unique in terms of influence and originality. English philologists are proud of such verbs, referring them to the origins of the ancient Germanic language. Many English-speaking poets and writers drew their creative powers from them. Readers may say that they are not going to write poetry in English (although over time everything is possible, it is difficult to predict the turns of fate). However, they constitute its foundation. It is impossible to master the English language without them. Many people who have devoted their free time to the study of the international language could be convinced of this. A systematic approach will allow you to master all topics, including those that are considered difficult in terms of study.

The study of irregular verbs is also required for the reason that some regular verbs are very similar to them. For example, found is like an irregular verb. If you take it this way, then in practice you get confusion. Every nuance is important and should be taken into account.

You need to start learning irregular verbs as early as possible. Most of them are based on exceptions rather than rules. This difficult moment should spur and stimulate. Regular verbs will become much easier to learn later. Generally, basic irregular verbs in English still have a definite system. She will help in mastering them.

Irregular verbs are difficult, that's a fact. However, you should devote at least 10 minutes every day to these "insidious parts of speech" so that they are assimilated once and for all. Having a specific system will make the task a little easier. It is important to understand: there will be no English without irregular verbs. Therefore, it is worthwhile to devote time to them.